Sci-Fi-London is the U.K.'s leading genre event and an internationally recognized launch pad for genre movies. At each festival there are at least a dozen U.K. premieres and in the last few years had the first public screening (ahead of the U.S.) of 28 WEEKS LATER and the world premiere of Bruce (Iron Maiden) Dickinson's CHEMICAL WEDDING. The festival is now in its eighth year and will take place Wednesday, April 29 through Monday, May 4, 2009 at several London venues including The Apollo West End Cinema, London's most luxurious cinema. Alongside our regular film programming (which includes shorts, features, documentaries and world premieres) we shall be featuring a series of talks and debates on genre literature, film and TV. There is also a new 'Science Fact' stream with demonstrations, lectures and debate. The festival will screen films over six days and also have a full daytime program over the bank holiday weekend, aimed at the whole family. The festival expects around 4,500 visitors in April and 1,000 in October. SCI-FI-LONDON once again throws down the gauntlet to filmmakers to produce some challenging short films with our second 48 hour film challenge. In April 2008 around 1,200 people take part and 70 films completed. Several of these films have been featured at other festivals and screened on the Sci Fi Channel in the U.K., U.S., Netherlands and Japan. Film director Marc Caro (DELICATESSEN, CITY OF THE LOST CHILDREN) will be on the jury.

The Los Angeles Comic Book And Science Fiction Convention takes place at the Shrine Auditorium Expo Center, located at 700 West 32nd Street, right across from the USC campu, near Figueroa and Jefferson. Admission is $8; children 5 and younger are free. A large dealers room full of comic books, anime merchandise, toys, and other collectibles are also featured.

Six Hours Of Anime -- 11 a.m.-5 p.m. (Film running times may start slightly earlier or later)

11 a.m. HEROIC AGE. West coast premiere. Three episodes. A feral boy named Age is the key to a prophesy that a savior will rise to overthrow the tyrannical Tribe of Silver and restore humanity, The Iron Tribe, from the brink of extinction.

12:15 p.m. MURDER PRINCESS. Three episodes. Princess Alita is forced to flee the kingdom of Forland-a stronghold of ancient and powerful magic-to escape a bloody coup on her royal family led by Dr. Akamashi and his supernatural cyborg minions. The Princess crosses paths with the infamous bounty hunter Falis, and this meeting will soon alter the course of their lives forever.

1:30 p.m. D.GRAY-MAN. Three episodes. West coast premiere. Allen Walker is an exorcist cursed with an eye that sees evil in its truest form, but gifted with a sturdy arm to slay the soul-devouring demons the Akuma, cruel spirits born of tragedy and lost souls who follow the bidding of their leader, the dread Millennium Earl. The war to decide the fate of humanity has begun, and Allen Walker is the only line of defense.

2:45 p.m. ROMEO X JULIET. Three episodes. West coast premiere. In this twist on the classic Romeo and Juliet story, Juliet has lived a tragic life roaming the city of Neo Verona disguised as the Red Whirlwind, a masked crusader determined to right the wrongs of an evil regime. Juliet soon meets Romeo, and together they unite to overcome the unfathomable evil that tortures their people.

4 p.m. BACCANO! Three episodes. A group of alchemists during the year 1711 seek eternal life by summoning a demon who gives them the elixir of life and the ability to create more. But the alchemists are threatened by a mysterious force and they decide the only way to escape is by going their separate ways. They reunite during the 1930s and then the trouble begins again.

FUNimation will be providing free giveaways such as posters.

A new day is dawning in competitive Yu-Gi-Oh! TRADING CARD GAME (TCG) play. Konami Digital Ent. will bring back the SHONEN JUMP Championships, the largest and most prestigious Yu-Gi-Oh! TCG tournament series in North America. Adding a level of mystery to the event, a new Yu-Gi-Oh! 5D's SHONEN JUMP Championship prize card will be revealed for the first time. KDE's SHONEN JUMP Championship series will begin April 25-26 in Anaheim, California at the Anaheim Convention Center. Each registrant will receive their KDE "official" identification card at the event. The registration fee is $20, and each player will receive five booster packs just for participating. The Anaheim Convention Center doors will open promptly at 8 a.m. for registration with Round One beginning at 10 a.m. The top 16 finalists for the SHONEN JUMP Championship along with the top 32 Duelists of the Sunday Regional will qualify to participate in the 2009 U.S. National Championship, which will be held later in the year. The SHONEN JUMP Championship in Anaheim offers exciting Yu-Gi-Oh! TCG side events for moms, dads and brothers and sisters not in the main tournament. The side events for both Saturday and Sunday include Win-a-Mat events, a Team Dueling competition, and special events for Duelists under 13. There will also be a Regional Qualifier on Sunday. rizes include brand new Top 16 SJC game mats, Nintendo DSi units with Yu-Gi-Oh! 5D's Stardust Accelerator World Championship 2009, Wii units and Yu-Gi-Oh! 5D's Wheelie Breakers, a 32 GB iPod Touch installed with Konami Mobile Games, a paid trip to the U.S. National Championships, and a complimentary subscription to SHONEN JUMP magazine for the Top 16. KDE has developed their own proprietary ranking system, called COSSY [Konami Card Game Official Tournament Support System], which will be used at the first SHONEN JUMP Championship in Anaheim. "By using COSSY in the first event it allows all players to start advancing up the rankings at the same time. New Duelists have just as much chance to rise in the rankings as veterans. This is the ranking system that is currently used in Japan," added KDE's Hoashi. For more information on Konami Digital Entertainment, the Yu-Gi-Oh! TRADING CARD GAME or the SHONEN JUMP Championship series, visit www.yugioh-card.com.

CHS Otaku Fest is brand new anime convention held at Centennial High School (4300 Centennial Lane) in Ellicott City, Maryland. Its designed to be a gathering ,celebration and promotion (for fans, by fans) of all thing related to Japanese animation, manga, and East Asian culture. The event will go from 9:30 a.m. to 9:30 p.m. on April 25, 2009. Activities will include a dealer's room, discussion panels, anime screenings, artist's alley, video game tournament, an AMV contest, a masquerade and much more. For more information visit otaku-fest.webs.com.

Visit Max the Mutt Animation School in the heart of Toronto's Art & Design District, and bring your family and friends. Young and old, everyone loves animation. You will get to see the facilities, view the student demo reels and learn about the exciting fields of animation, illustration, comic books, graphic novels and concept art for animation and video games. 952 Queen Street West (Queen and Shaw) in downtown TO. 416-703-6877 or toll free 1-877-486-MUTT. Friday April 24, 2009 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. and Saturday April 25, 2009 10 a.m. to 4 p.m.

Red Stick International Animation Festival, the largest event of its kind in the United States, is now accepting entries for its fifth annual 2009 "Best of the Fest" competition. Red Stick highlights the intersections among art, technology and computational science. Each year, the festival draws renowned animators, video game developers and other digital media industry professionals to Baton Rouge to host lectures, workshops and other events for aspiring artists, programmers and entrepreneurs. The festival is sponsored by LSU in partnership with the Baton Rouge Area Chamber, Baton Rouge Area Foundation, East Baton Rouge Parish Mayor-President's Office, Louisiana Department of Culture, Recreation and Tourism, Louisiana Economic Development and Baton Rouge Area Digital Industries Consortium. More than 200 people from nearly 30 countries entered films for the 2008 competition, and more than 4,000 people attended the festival events and film screenings. For the 2009 festival, which will take place April 22-25 in downtown Baton Rouge's Arts District, participants can submit work in eight categories: -- Animated Short Film (student and professional) -- Music Video -- Scientific Visualization -- Animation for Commercials -- Animation for Games -- Animation for Young Audiences -- Experimental Animation/Visual Music (student and professional) -- Storyboard Competition There is no entry fee for the competition, and participants can submit work in more than one category. Red Stick will accept entries through January 2, 2009. Materials and inquiries should be sent to Red Stick International Animation Festival -- LSU, 216 Johnston Hall, Baton Rouge, LA, 70803. For more information, or to enter online, visit www.redstickfestival.org/submissions. For more information on Red Stick 2009, contact the festival office at 225-389-7182.

As every year in April, Cartoon Digital will review latest developments in the digital sector encompassing TV activities online, video games, production new media companies and how the new digital world creates new opportunities for animation producers. Consult http://www.cartoon-media.be/masters/dig_index.php to review last year's event.

3D Training, Learning and Collaboration (3D TLC), taking place April 20-21, 2009 in Washington, DC, is the leading event for businesses seeking to understand and maximize business strategies using virtual worlds. 3D virtual worlds have broad implications for business not the least of which is cost savings and energy conservation. Topics range from the general use of virtual worlds in the workplace to specific examples of applications for e-Learning, onboarding, sales training, collaboration, meetings, and more.

Register at http://www.3dtlc.com/.

The NAB Show is the world's largest professional digital media industry convention. The National Association of Broadcasters (NAB) has been hosting this event for over 80 years for all traditional broadcast, entertainment and emerging platform industries, including TV, Radio, Film, Internet and many others. Organizers of the NAB Show have announced the featured speakers and highlights of the 2009 Content Theater. Featuring content and insights from blockbuster animated features, harrowing documentaries, and legendary industry executives, the 2009 NAB Show's Content Theater will be one of the highlight venues during the NAB Show. Unveiled in 2008, the NAB Show Content Theater showcases the most innovative cinema, television, online and mobile filmed entertainment, and examines how it was created using new tools and technologies found on the Show floor. The 2009 Content Theater is part of the NAB Show's overall Content Central exhibit area, located in the Central Hall of the Las Vegas Convention Center. Highlights will include: -- Pixar Animation Studios -- Case Study: Pixar Stereoscopic With two Disney Pixar films releasing in Disney Digital 3D in 2009, Pixar is moving to the forefront of 3D cinema. This case study will examine the use of 3D in Pixar's storytelling, the process developed for resurrecting and converting 14-year-old images to release TOY STORY in 3D on October 2, and the production pipeline designed for Disney Pixar's first feature film in 3D, UP, opening nationwide on May 29. The speakers will be Josh Hollander, Director of Stereoscopic Production, and Bob Whitehill, Stereoscopic Supervisor. The presentation will include special content, not to be missed. -- The Jim Henson Company -- Case Study: Jim Henson's Creature Shop -- Performing animated characters in real time. Kerry Shea, Head of Digital Production demonstrates the cutting edge technology from Jim Henson's Creature Shop that allows Henson puppeteers to perform animated characters in real time by combining mechanical input technology, motion capture and a proprietary real time viewer. The session will feature special guest, Sid, star of the PBS KIDS animated preschool series SID THE SCIENCE KID. -- Animal Planet --- Case Study: "Walk the Lion" In Animal Planet's upcoming series WALK THE LION, large predator expert Dave Salmoni embarked on the journey of a lifetime. For six months, Salmoni lived among a pride of lions, alone, in the African wilderness where his experience and knowledge as a zoologist and large cat expert was put to the test. In this case study, Salmoni will talk about the technology and production techniques that were used to create this groundbreaking and challenging documentary. Television personality and entertainment business executive Robin Leach will serve as the host for the Content Theater sessions on Tuesday, April 21. The NAB Show will take place April 18-23, 2009 in Las Vegas (exhibits open April 20).

Orlando -- FX Show, "The Coolest Show on Earth" just keeps getting bigger, as they continue to pull out the punches right up to the shows start this Friday--most recently announcing artist Mark Texeira as one of the "Guests of Honor" at their amazing convention April 17-19, 2009. You know doubt know Mark for his work on VAMPIRELLA, MOONKNIGHT, BLACK PANTHER, PANTHA, WOLVERINE, SABERTOOTH, and many other characters that Mark describes as the "dark souls" of the industry. In fact his work on GHOST RIDER is so renowned that Mark was featured in an exclusive interview on the DVD of the GHOST RIDER movie starring Nick Cage. Coming up, you'll be seeing Texeira on sequential art again soon with projects for Wizards of the Coast, and for Marvel featuring new work on Wolverine and the Punisher. New on the horizon: This year will see the release of Mark's new art book, TEX: THE ART MARK TEXEIRA -- THE ARTIST'S GREAT ESCAPE, from Vanguard Productions and well as CREATOR CHRONICLES: MARK TEXEIRA FROM WOODCREST PRODUCTIONS AND EVA INK, featuring a new DVD interview and tutorial! Mark will be completing a piece from beginning to end, for the first time on camera! Other guests scheduled to join Texeira at the Orlando Convention Center include: Leonard Nimoy, Olivier Coipel, Michael Golden, Matt Fraction, Arthur Suydam, Frank Brunner, Joseph Michael Linsner, Eva Hopkins, Dan Brereton, Billy Tucci, Tommy Castillo, Chuck Dixon, Derec Donovan, Francesco Francavilla, Greg Horn, Dave Johnson, Doug Murray, Ted Naifeh, Dave Nester, Phil Noto, Michael Oeming, Dan Panosian, Steve Rude, J. David Spurlock, Mark Sparacio, Renee Witterstaetter, John Beatty and many more! Mark Texeira is pleased to be the "Guest of Honor" at FX Show this year, adding this to his list of favorite conventions. He will also be sketching, signing all three days o f the show. For more information go to: www.fxshow.com.